Unsung: Aaliyah

If you aren't familiar with the TV One series "UnSung", then I suggest you familiarize yourself with it immediately. Unsung is an awesome documentary series that sheds light on musical acts from the past that while they seemed to be on their rise to ultimate stardom, for some reason or another, they weren't quite able to reach the status of *SUPERSTAR*. Unsung has featured artists from Phyliss Hyman to Klymaxx, Donnie Hathaway to Stacey Lattisaw, and many more amazing artists.

While I was watching the episode on Tammi Terrell this Sunday, I began to think "if Unsung is still around in 30 years, which artists of today are likely to have their shortened careers chronicled on an episode?" So this is the first in many of my (The Future Of) Unsung



UNSUNG: Aaliyah


Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979 in Brooklyn, New York but raised in Detroit, Michigan. At an early age, Aaliyah was featured on the television talent show Star Search.

At the age of 12, Aaliyah signed with Blackground/Jive Records, a label run by her uncle Barry Hankerson. Barry introduced Aaliyah to R. Kelly who became her mentor, songwriter, and producer of her debut album "Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number". Although Kelly and Haughton seemed to make an excellent team, Aaliyah split from the Blackground label and signed to Atlantic Records after rumors of an illegal marriage between the two.

Aaliyah went on to work with rising up and coming artists Timbaland and Missy, who produced her second album "One In A Million" which went on to sale 3.7 million copies in the U.S. and over 8 million copies worldwide.

In 2000 Aaliyah starred in her first major film role in the movie Romeo Must Die, contributing the song "Try Again" to the film's soundtrack which earned her a Grammy Nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist.

After finishing her work on Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah was cast for a part in Queen Of The Damned. She then released her third studio album, simply titled "Aaliyah". On August 25, 2001 Aaliyah and 8 others were killed when their plane crashed in the Bahamas. Aaliyah and her team were there filming a music video for her single Rock The Boat. The pilot, Luis Morales II, was unlicensed at the time and was found to have traces of alcohol and cocaine in his blood. Her family filed a wrongful death law suit against his employers which was settled out of court.

The week following her death, Aaliyah's third album rose from number 19 to number 1 on the Billboard 200. A documentary on the making of her final music video for "Rock The Boat" was shown on BET's show Access Granted and became the most viewed and highest rated episode in the history of the show. In December 2002 I Care 4 U, a compilation of Aaliyah's previously unreleased music was released and debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200. The lead single I Miss You peaked at number 3 on the Hot 100.

Aaliyah was signed to appear several feature films including the movie Honey, Some Kind Of Blue, and a remake of the 1976 film Sparkle. Before her death, Aaliyah filmed her role in The Matrix Reloaded and was shceduled to appear in The Matrix Revolutions.

Aaliyah has been credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop in the 1990's and is often referred to as the "princess of hip hop and R&B".

COMING UP ON (The Future Of) UNSUNG:

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